‘The Lutherans came through for me. They didn’t leave me until everything was done.
God was working through those people. Thank you, God, for the Lutherans.’
living in Texas since the disaster, received a call from an LDR coordi- nator who asked if the organization could help fi x her house. Ecstatic, Giron moved back to St. Bernard Parish and lived with a friend so she could be near her house while it was getting repaired. “Every week there was a new
crew of people working on my house,” Giron said. “T ey were the most humble people, and they were always ready to pray with me.” About a year or so aſt er work
began, Giron’s house was fi nished. “T e Lutherans came through for me. T ey didn’t leave me until everything was done,” she said. “ God was working through those people. T ank you, God, for the Lutherans.” T e Lutheran volunteers were
aff ected too. “An overwhelming majority of people I talk to who want to know about volunteering in a disaster area share [that] their fi rst response was in the Gulf with Katrina,” said Michael Stadie, LDR program director. Aſt er the initial recovery work
the ELCA maintained a presence in Katrina-aff ected areas. T e 2009 and 2012 ELCA Youth Gatherings, held in New Orleans, continued the work and relationship-building started by LDR.
“ELCA youth built a relationship
with the people of New Orleans post-Katrina that continues to this day,” said Heidi Hagstrom, program director for the Gathering. While their tangible service
was deeply valued, she said what was more powerful was that “they intentionally listened to the stories of people still traumatized by Hur- ricane Katrina, bearing another’s burden, thus ‘fulfi lling the law of Christ.’ ”
Author bio: Brandsrud lives in Chicago and is the program interpre- ter for Lutheran Disaster Response.
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@eotours August 2015 29
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